Into Darkness
by OMGThePotatoQueen
Summary: Annika tried to do the right thing. She watched Tom and knew he could be destined for great things but only if he let her help. She failed him. Now as the many heroes of this story surround her they ask her why. As it turns out, most of the time you remain the hero of your own story even when you become the villain of someone else's.


April 5th 2001

She sat in a cozy red chair with a book in her hand. The title: Being and Time. A light breeze came threw the air but she did not lift her head.

"Annika." A voice spoke. One she recognized all too well.

"Why hello Mr. Shacklebolt. What brings you to my domain?"

Kingsley Shacklebolt stood behind the woman resting in the red chair. His face held no emotion. She knew why he was there, she always did.

"I have no time for games Annika." He spoke.

Annika slowly closed her book, placing it on the table beside her. She then got up from her spot in the chair and turned to face her visitor.

"We had a deal."

She smirked. "One I shall honor. Let us go shall we?"

Annika took ahold of Kingsley's hand and off the went. Within moments they were in a room with several others. Among them was the infamous Harry Potter. Also sat Ron Weasley and his family, or should she say what was left of them. Hermione Granger, Narcissa Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, and Minerva McGonagall.

"Quite and audience we have here." Annika said looking at the crowd. "Tell me Narcissa, where is your husband?"

Narcissa frowned. "He could not attend."

"Could not or did not want to?"

Harry Potter crossed his arms and stood from his seat.

"You're the one we have waited for? The one who will explain everything?"

Annika sat down in a chair she assumed was for her, being that it faced the crowd in front of her.

"Yes, it would seem that way. I am surprised at the amount of people who showed up in all honesty. I mena, who knew so many people cared about why Voldemort..is...was Voldemort?"

"We have to." Molly Weasley Spoke. "Call it curiosity, a need for clarity, wanting to understand... People are dead. People I...we loved. I can't speak for everyone but I want to know why." Her voice was strained, it was a mixture of sadness and anger.

Annika pitied the woman. In fact she pitied everyone here. Loosing people, people we care about, it hard. That pain never goes away, you simply must make room for it.

"Pain drives us. Sometimes you climb out of bed in the morning and you think, I'm not going to make it, but you laugh inside — remembering all the times you've felt that way."

Annika sighed and rested her cheek on her hand.

"I failed him. I really did."

"Voldemort?" Harry asked.

Annika shook her head. "No..Tom. I failed Tom. Power changes everything, till it is difficult to say who are the heroes and who the villains. I tried so very hard, to make Tom avoid being the villain... to avoid being like me."

Hermione looked at Annika with confusion. "Like you?"

"Dear, I have walked this earth for many, many years. I have done things..horrible things. The reasons, no longer matter, but they are memories I must live with. Believe me when I tell you no one understands how easy it is to give in to darkness better than I."

Annika closes her eyes, as a series of her own choices flash in her mind. The crowd watched her, all curious of the woman who sat before them, and the secrets she held.

"Where do I start? Some of you may already know the beginning of Toms life, but I shall being there for those of you who do not."

November 13th 1927

Annika looked through the room full of antique items, and things people sold for extra cash. Mostly worthless junk. Her attention was then caught by a woman at the front desk. She was a plain looking woman, tired, dirty, desperate and heavily pregnant. Normally Annika would pay no mind to such things but was drawn in by the item the woman was trying to sell. It was a necklace, of a golden S. To most the necklace was nothing but an accessory, however Annika new better. That S, was an heirloom. A Slytherin heirloom. An opportunity came to Annika's mind. She followed the young woman out of the shop and into the street.

"Miss?" Annika called out, causing the woman to turn and face her.

"Me?" The woman asked confused.

Annika nodded. "My name is Annika, what is yours?"

"Merope." The woman said wearily.

Annika smiled. "What a peculiar name. Do you have anywhere to go Merope?"

Merope shook her head no. Annika held out her hand to the woman, who in all honesty could still be considered a girl. Merope, not knowing what else to do took Annika's hand, who then pulled Merope into her arms and lead her down the street. It did not take long before they arrived at an apartment building. Annika lead Merope up a flight of stairs to her place of domain. They entered and Annika began to take off her coat and scarf to hand on a nearby hook.

"Make yourself at home." Annika said as she made her way to the kitchen area to put on a pot of tea. Merope looked around at her environment. The apartment was nice and cozy, nicer than anything Merope had seen in a good while. She opted to keep her coat on and made her way to the couch, sitting down slowly. The apartment had many things in it, but something Merope could not help but notice was the lack of photographs. It's not that she expected to see a ton, but from what Merope could gathered Annika was not poor. She probably came from a wealthy family. However there were no photos of them and that made Merope curious.

Annika walked over with a tray with Tea and cups on it. She placed the tea on the coffee table and sat next to Merope. Merope watched Annika as she poured the tea into the cups.

"Something on your mind?" Annika asked, glancing at the woman beside her.

Merope looked down. "I just... What do you want from me? Who are you?"

Annika smiled. "I am simply a person who saw another in need."

"But why? I am no one." Merope didn't understand why a stranger would want to take her in.

"Perhaps not. Your child however is another story." Annika explained.

Merope gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?"

Annika sipped her tea before continuing.

"The necklace you sold, it belonged to Salazar Slytherin. You hold great magic in your veins my dear."

Meropes eyes widened. "How did you know that?!"

"I know many things Merope, and as to why I am helping you... perhaps I am invested in your child's future."

 _"That was all it took really, poor girl was pretty easy to win over. It's amazing really. I expected her to be a much harder person considering how her father treated her."_

As days past Merope began to be more comfortable around Annika. She shared things about her family and told Annika of her love for the muggle Tom Riddle.

"He was everything to me." Merope spoke in an almost dream like state.

"And yet he abandoned you when you needed him most."

Merope shrugged. "I thought... maybe he could come to love me, for real. The most confused you will ever get is when you try to convince your heart and spirit of something your mind knows is a lie. "

Annika nodded lightly.

"Have you ever been in love Annika?"

Annika frowned. "Once."

Merope tilted her head to the side. "Will you tell me about it?"

"I was born, like many witches, with high expectations. My mother was a half-blood and a poor one at that. People in the magical society pitted and laughed at her. She was not a full witch yet was not ordinary enough to commit to being a muggle. My mother was determined to one day be great, to one day make those who looked down at her to feel foolish."

"She sounds like a force of nature." Merope said smiling.

Annika laughed. "Yes, that's one way to look at it. My mother, being poor learned how to trick people to survive. She snuck into a formal party of some pure blood gathering, pretended to be one of them in hopes of catching the eye of a suitor. If my mother had anything on her side it was her looks. She had long blonde hair, much like my own, high cheekbones, forest green eyes... quite the catch had she come from the right family. She did catch the attention of an older man, however he was not looking for a bride himself, but for one of his sons."

Merope leaned her elbows on her legs and head in her hands.

"I won't get into all the details but she was found out. The older man...my grandfather. He decided that instead of throwing her back into the street he would do what, to most witches would be considered worse. He married he to one of his sons. His youngest son. A squib."

"He had no magic?" Merope asked with eyes wide.

Annika shook her head no.

"He did not. That of course frustrated my mother, being that she was not told this until the deed was done but even then that mattered little to my mother. The family she married into was still a good one. One with influence. That was all she needed. When I was born my mother wanted to exceed her own power through me. She believed she knew the things that would make me happiest, however never really asked me."

"At least she took interest in you. My father did nothing but patronize me." Merope spoke bitterly.

"Here's the things about being a parent Merope. When you have a child, you think they are you. Your same dreams, ambitions, thoughts and fears. The secret is they're not. I didn't care about power, or the influence I had over other people. I cared about being happy. I cared about love."

Merope crossed her arms as she listened to Annika's story.

"Being born from a parent that was a squib delayed my magic abilities. I didn't show any true signs of having magic until I was thirteen and that was only because my mother pushed me. When I was fifteen I met Andrew. He was a muggle-born who worked in a book shop I would go to. "

Merope smiled. "And he was the one you fell in love with." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes." Annika declared. "I did, but I knew my mother would never approve. The boy had nothing to offer me. He was a muggle-born, lower class, no title. I loved him anyways, and he loved me. We planned to runaway together when I came of age. Long enough for me to properly learn magic and escape my mother's firm hold. He had a little sister named Tara... sweet girl..naive girl. One day my mother came into the shop and his sister ended up in conversation with my mother. In the end she had told my mother of mine and Andrews relationship. She was eight..she didn't know. My mother found us together in the back of the store. We were not doing anything, just talking, but that didn't matter."

"How did she take it?" Merope asked. The story beginning to make her more anxious.

"She told us that she knew of our relationship. That she didn't understand how I could so easily let my affections be won over. She also to us that it didn't matter, because she had already accepted another for my hand in marriage."

"So you were forced to leave Andrew." Merope said sadly.

Annika took a deep breath. "I wish that was how things ended. I screamed at my mother. Asking how she could do such a thing without telling me. That I loved Andrew and nothing she did could change that. I remember the frown she had on her face as I said that. She asked me if being with Andrew would make me truly happy. I told her yes and for a moment I thought she was actually hearing me. She told me all she wanted was my happiness and walked toward Andrew, sizing him up. She apologized that it had to be this way. And then she killed him."

Merope gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth.

"She said she only wanted my happiness, but that I had no idea what would truly make me happy. She said love was weakness, and the only true happiness we can have is through power. She lifted me from the ground were Andrew laid and dusted me off. Told me to chin up, I would be a Duchess."

"How could a parent ever do that to their child?" Merope asked sadly.

Annika scoffed. "I find irony in getting pitied by a woman who's father beat her and husband left her pregnant and poor."

"Which situation is worse does not matter Annika. A person can get stabbed in the leg and another in the arm, they both hurt."

"I became a dark person after that. So stuck on getting vengeance."

"Against your mother?" Merope asked.

"Against Tara."


End file.
